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We Broke Up With Netflix

We love TV and Netflix. My husband loved TV. So, how could I explain to him that I felt like God wanted us to let that part of our life go? I had a check in my spirit though, and through obedience, we broke up with Netflix.

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WATCH: The Marriage Video Every Young Couple Should Watch Before They Say, “I Do”

“No one told me, it feels so odd that dating feels like a vacation, while marriage feels like a job,” shares Jefferson Bethke. In his spoken word, Bethke eloquently depicts the reality of marriage — the beauty and the work.

In our “glass half full” optimistic outlook in life, we have high expectations of what marriage should be. Will be. But, when we experience the reality of marriage, we can find ourselves confused.

Watch this spoken word — a realistic view of what a godly marriage looks like

In just under four minutes, Jefferson Bethke covers deep, marital challenges including idols, divorce rate, and how to put Jesus first in your marriage.

Read Jefferson Bethke’s words on marriage from his spoken word

Disney movies and chick flicks, they’ve put us in a weird position
They distorted our reality, because we forget they’re actually fiction

Because in marriage, we either get better or bitter, either joy or remorses
What we’re doing isn’t working, just like at the rate of divorces

So how’s your marriage, I mean come on, let’s be honest
Marriage seems more like a prison than the paradise they were promised

We thought marriage was supposed to fulfill us and make us happy, not lonely
But the truth is God’s first priority is making you holy

You say, “No one told me, it feels so odd
That dating feels like a vacation, while marriage feels like a job”

Yet the secret of joy if we just pull back to façade
Is realizing most problems arise when we elevate our spouse to God

Without knowing it, we fulfilled Romans 1:25
By our actions, extremes of truth about God for a lie

We’ve exchanged God for lesser-created things
It’s like a husband trading his wife for a 2D image on a screen

Hoping it’ll set us free, justifying the fumes we’re choking
Because if your marriage rests on anything but Jesus, it’s resting on something broken

Yet guys continually sacrifice their marriage on the altar of sex and lust
I mean if our dollars were honest, they’d stay in pleasure we trust

So men, grow up, put down the controller
How about you lead her with grace instead of trying to control her

Now I’ve never been married, but I’m a product of one that was nonexistent
So don’t tell me I don’t understand the pain, don’t tell me I don’t get it

So for the singles, become friends first before you ever become lovers
Pursue Jesus as your foundation before you get under the covers

Because, believe me, a strong friendship before marriage will make a good marriage after
Marriage isn’t just sex, it’s conversation and laughter

I mean some spouses barely even like each other, and the marriage seems like a dead end
You might share a checkbook and a house, but are you actually friends?

I mean, if marriage isn’t a commitment, then what’s the point of the vows we say?
“‘Til death do us part” really means “Until the feelings go away”

Like, I’ll stay with him, but only until it gets tough and my love shifts
But I say imagine if a parent took that perspective with their kids

Like can’t you see it? The minute the kid spills something on the floor
The mom’s saying, “Forget it, I don’t even love you anymore”

No, it’s just like marriage, to last you need the strength from above
Because it’s not love that sustains the promise, it’s the promise that sustains the love

I mean think about it, out of anyone, who’s actually had the right to leave?
God had every reason in the world that he still came for you and me

And on the cross he paid it all, took our shame, and set us free
When he could’ve called the legions of angels, he chose to stay on that tree

From the cross, he looks you in the eye and says I’m taking this from my bride
When you trust in me, you no longer have to hide

Because of me, it is finished, you’ve been made new
You’re spotless, you’re blameless, there’s no sin in you

Because his death was a proposal, he wanted you no matter the cost
Where some guys propose on the knee, Jesus proposed on a cross

So read Ephesians 5, whether husband or wife
Wife honor your husband, husbands give up your life

Just like Jesus gave himself up for his bride: the church
So men, lead by serving by putting her first

So die to self, put your flesh on a life sentence
Because you don’t fall out of love as much as you fall out of repentance

Brian Orme
Brian Orme
Brian is a writer and editor from Ohio. He works with creative and innovative people to discover the top stories, resources and trends to equip and inspire the Church.

We Broke Up With Netflix

We love TV and Netflix. My husband loved TV. So, how could I explain to him that I felt like God wanted us to let that part of our life go? I had a check in my spirit though, and through obedience, we broke up with Netflix.

Mom Notices 3 Strange Men Following Her Kids in Ross, Then Sends Cashier Urgent Message

While shopping at her local Ross over the weekend, a woman named Nicolette experienced an “unbelievable encounter” with three men who she believes were exhibiting “sex trafficking behavior.”

50 Inspiring Aging Gracefully Quotes to Celebrate Life’s Seasons

Aging gracefully is an art form, a subtle dance between accepting the passage of time and celebrating the wealth of experiences it brings. In...